Kiss Me, Make Me Better
by exterminateme
Summary: Hearts are unpredictable, their power is incalculable, and sometimes they're painfully impractical. When Kaiba's twin sister arrives in Domino, is it worth treading in the darkness to find out what love really is? OC x Yami Yugi, OC x Yami Bakura
1. The Strange Hair Group

Welcome, friend, to my first fanfic!

For the record I'll be writing this as if the story took place in a slightly more Western culture, since I'm not versed in many Japanese customs. I highly respect Japan and its heritage, I just can't do it justice. So without any further ado, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of _Kiss Me, Make Me Better. _-Mismatch

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, an airplane, and/or a can of hairspray.

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><p><em>This journal is so new, I feel bad having to bend the binding just to open it!<em>

_Hello there, my name's Sara. Sara Kaiba, at your service. But don't mistake a name for a person, I'm not just "a Kaiba". Seto and I may be twins, but it's only fraternal; we look almost nothing alike. He's just a brunette, while my red hair gives me super powers!...not really, though. Some of our credibility as human beings might be restored if we could fly and lift cars with our pinkies and turn invisible though...but what should appearances matter anyway?_

_I'm kind of an odd person, but I guess every teenager thinks that about themselves. I'm an often barefoot, vegany/vegetarian-ish type person, and I try to be healthy, so I end up having a rather slim figure like my older brother. (But I'll probably end up eating a bunch of junk food when I get to Japan, traveling always does that to me). I don't wear make-up anymore because I'm trying to be a stronger woman and not hide behind a "mask", but it's hard to not feel insecure sometimes. It's as if every girl wears make-up these days..._

_On the womanly topic, I've been informed that Domino High's uniform requires that I wear a skirt...oh bother. I dislike wearing clothing that constricts the body too much, so sometimes when I have to wear dresses or skirts, I secretly wear shorts underneath._

_I consider myself pretty lucky. I've always felt as if some force in the universe has been looking out for me, and making sure things aren't so bad. I mean, life hasn't been the greatest so far, being an orphan and getting shipped off to live in a strange country without my brothers and not having a whole lot of money and getting bullied at school because I'm too awesome to be normal and whatnot, but at least I'm not dead yet!_

_...Man, I _suck_ at selling myself. I've got to stop being so self-degrading._

_I love being out in nature. It's like going home to millions of years and saying "Thank you for giving me the chance to enjoy life as a being of the Earth." I have a deep-rooted affinity for the feeling of the sun shining, the wind tickling, the Earth between my toes as I journey across forever and all the sensational wonders of this blessed place._

_I have an interest in a great many things, so much that it is silly to even fathom writing them all down. I adore people-watching, the diversity of language, adventures, reading, singing and dancing through life, enlightenment, the arts, peculiarities, revolutions, imagining, and of course: love. Pure love; irresponsible love; best-friend love; forbidden, angsty, desperate love; love of a thing, idea, activity, word, place, color, or sound; and love of the Earth and all her inhabitants._

_And regardless of my worries, I am sure of this: I am a beautiful, strong, independent woman, no matter what my fears tell me, because I am certain that we are all beautiful. When I land in Japan, I'll be sure to be the true Sara Kaiba, and not be so insecure all the time; I have such respect for everyone, I should at least have some respect for myself. I've always thought that life was about finding yourself, but maybe transferring to this new school will be my opportunity to not only _find_ myself, but _create_ myself, too._

_I bet people won't believe I'm a Kaiba. I mean, I'm a little introverted, but I immediately open up once people make an effort to get to know me. I hope my friends are glad they made the effort to befriend me...sometimes in private they try to remind me that I'm wonderful just the way I am, but I'm not too sure about that. I mean, I'm fairly certain that I'm at least a little fun to be around, and I like to think that I have some moral fiber._

_Never mind, who cares what people think? I try to be a good person, and that's all that should matter. I like to believe I'm funny, since I choose to laugh at life's silliness. Even though most of my humor comes from being quirky, I still end up making people laugh. That's all I've ever really wanted in life, anyway. I just want to make people happy. That might be my mission in life, to learn as many smiles as I can, and to hear the beautiful chorus of laughter as often as possible. I think it's a nice goal. And of course to make everything an adventure, why let the mundane tasks of life pass by mindlessly when there are inanimate objects to breath life into or silly things to laugh about? Isn't that right, Journal?_

_I can't wait to hear Seto and Mokuba laugh. I haven't seen them in ages. I love them, I always have, and even after all these years I've never stopped thinking about them. I was left by myself at the orphanage when Gozaburo adopted them, that is until our grandfather's friend Ray took me in. Ray changed my last name to Kaiba (with my consent, of course) when he adopted me, thinking it would be a nice bond to share with my brothers, so that I would always feel connected to them, no matter where we were. And it worked, we lived on opposite sides of the globe, but I never once doubted that they were thinking about me just as much as I was thinking about them. So even though I never was Gozaburo's daughter, I'm a Kaiba anyway, and always will be. After all this time Ray came to realize that I belong with my brothers and decided to do something about it. He tried to see if Gozaburo would take me in, only to find out that he's out of the picture, and that Seto and Mokuba have been living by themselves all this time! I'm going to miss Ray terribly, but I can't wait to reunite with my brothers. It's like a piece of my heart has been stitched back together. _

_My hand's starting to cramp up...not too bad of an introduction. So that's a snippet of who I am, Journal. Who are you? You know, I think I'll name you Jo: Jo the Journal. So long for now, Jo! See you after we land in Japan!_

_~Sara_

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><p>The plane rumbled as it landed on the strip, signaling our arrival, and my mind began to swim. This isn't a dream. I'm actually going to see my brothers, and this time nothing's going to separate us. I'm finally home.<p>

"We're actually in Japan...Hey, Jo, we're here." I whispered to my journal like a nutcase. Jo the Journal was quickly developing a presence in my life. I unbuckled the seatbelt and grabbed my carry-on bag so that I was ready to descend from the plane. All I could think about was seeing my brothers, and hoping they would recognize me after all this time. My hair's a lot shorter, and I have a few more freckles than I did at the orphanage...they better not forget what their only sister looks like.

After a few, short-lived "thank-you"s and "good-bye"s directed towards the pilot and flight attendants, I skipped through the dimly lit tunnel and into the main building of the airport. I felt lost the moment we were released into the sea of people, all hurrying to someplace important. For a few minutes I started walking in what I thought was the right direction of baggage claim, until I felt immobilized by something wrapping around my body.

"Sara! I missed you so much!" Mokuba exclaimed. I hurriedly dropped all my things and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the forehead and ruffling his mass of hair.

"I've missed you too, Mokie!" I greeted. When I got out of the Mokuba specialty hug, I spotted Seto walking towards us calmly.

"Hey, it's good to see you, Sara." Seto stated with an attempt at a smile. I immediately ran towards him jumped onto his torso, giddy with excitement. He stumbled backwards but didn't react otherwise, probably because he was too shell-shocked to know what was going on, until he slowly put his arms around my back. After a minute of me laughing from elation at finally seeing my brothers, I kissed the top of Seto's head and dropped back down to the ground. I pulled away and was about to speak, but got cut off by Mokuba hugging me again.

"I can't believe you're really here: in Japan!" Mokuba shouted.

"You cut your hair." Seto stated, as if I hadn't noticed. "Looks nice." He offered, trying to cover his Sir Points-Out-The-Obvious-A-Lot comment.

"Thanks, Seto. So how have you guys been lately?" I asked, still being entrapped by Mokuba's arms.

"Alright, a little stressed from work and stuff." Seto replied vaguely as he crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. We all continued the journey to baggage claim, or at least we would have, but a certain someone was still clinging onto my body, making it nigh impossible for me to move without limping like a fool.

"I missed you so much, Mokie, but we have to go now, so we can go do lots of fun, exciting things! Unless you'd rather us spend the rest of the day in this smelly place." I said, ruffling his hair again. He giggled, finally releasing his death grip and beginning to walk towards our destination. Seto and I followed suit, and I realized there was going to be a lot of catching up to do. It's been years since the three of us were all together, but I'm here to stay, and I'm sure there will be many more years to come where we can all be with each other, just like this.

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><p>Once my bags had completed their adventurous ride on the exciting baggage claim carousal, Seto swiftly hoisted them up over the bar and set them on the ground with a short "I'll help you with these." for an explanation.<p>

I would like to note that on most occasions I try to assert my independent woman-ness by graciously declining the offer and doing the work myself, but that plane ride really got to me. My legs already felt like jelly, who knows what two more suitcases would do...

"Thank you, Seto. I really appreciate it." I replied gratefully. "So, how do we get out of the airport?" I directed the question at Seto, knowing that Mokuba was probably too caught-up in the whole "She's actually here!" thing to answer.

"Over this way." He replied as he began walking towards an area of the enormous building. The _click-click-click_ sound of the suitcases rolling over every single tile in the whole freaking airport was drowned out when someone spoke, so I decided to initiate conversation.

"How long has Gozaburo been gone?" I inquired, hoping he would fill some holes in my memory.

"A couple years now." He stated briefly as he looked down, obviously trying to avoid eye contact. As I waited for him to continue I heard a voice address us.

"Ah, man, it's Kaiba. But who's she?" A guy with blonde hair and what sounded like a Brooklyn accent wondered, blatantly pointing in our direction.

"Oh, great. What's he doing here?" Seto grumbled, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You know him?" I asked. The evident distain in his voice clearly gave away his answer, though, so there really wasn't much point in me asking.

"Yeah, he goes to Domino High, too. He's a revolting, disgusting buffoon who doesn't know when to shut up." Seto snarled. I flinched from his harshness. Those two must have some serious history together. Much to Seto's dismay Blondie started running to our location.

"Hey there! Joey Wheeler here! But I don't need to explain myself, you've probably heard of me." He stated confidently. I tried to suppress the urge to laugh, who the hell was this guy?

"I'm sorry. I just arrived here in the country and I don't really know a lot about what's popular here anymore, so no, I haven't heard of you. But I'm sure you're a great person." I tried to be as nice as I could. I smiled, hoping not to offend him.

"No one's heard of him." Seto clarified. Joey sulked.

"Hey, you're not going out with Kaiba are you?" He asked incredulously as he glared at Seto. I couldn't contain myself anymore and let out a laugh.

"No, of course not! We're-" I began to explain as a group of people our age with strange hair arrived. Either they knew someone in the conversation or I had forgotten that everyone in Japan had no personal bubbles.

"If you're not with Kaiba, then would you go out with me?" Joey interrupted, looking hopeful. Although I was flattered, I couldn't help but giggle at the expressions of the group behind him who anime sweat-dropped.

"As if I would let my sister date a dog like you." Seto stated, crossing his arms and smirking at what he thought would be Joey's imminent reaction.

"Who said anything about your sister?" Joey asked as he scratched his head. Seto sighed in frustration as Mokuba and I laughed.

"I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Seto retorted calmly.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Joey questioned. His confusion only made me laugh more.

"Joey, I think that's a no." Said one of the posse, clapping him on the back. I looked behind him to see that-

Joey has some _really_ hot friends.

But, I think everyone's beautiful, so I guess that's not saying much...

"Come on, Sara, I don't want you to be around these people." Seto stated as he turned to walk away, the suitcases making that really annoying clicking noise until I grabbed his arm to get his attention.

"At least let me introduce myself, Seto." I requested. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'll be over there." He said as he motioned towards the exit. "C'mon, Mokuba. Let's go." Seto started walking away with Mokuba trailing behind. I turned to the group of people to introduce myself.

"Hello there, my name's Sara Kaiba. I just got back from the U.S. It's lovely to meet you all." I smiled, holding out my hand for someone to shake.

"Joey Wheeler's the name!" Joey exclaimed loudly as he shook my hand vigorously.

"So I've heard." I replied politely as the others chuckled.

"But before you said you'd never heard of me?" Joey questioned in confusion as everybody sweat-dropped...again. In his stupor, someone hip-checked Joey out of the way and gently took my hand.

"It's an honor to meet an angel as stunning as you, Sara." He gushed, bringing my hand to his lips for a soft kiss. Who the hell were these people? "My name's Duke." He grinned, showcasing his bright white teeth, creating a rather heavy contrast to his dark, tied-back hair and his...eyeliner? Now that I thought about it, the majority of these people looked somewhat extraordinary. I wouldn't be surprised if their morning beauty routines took hours to complete. Trying to hide the fact that my cheeks were heating up, I smiled in relief when Duke was shoved out of the way by another companion of his.

"Knock it off, Duke, she doesn't need to be traumatized the minute she lands in the country. Hi there, I'm Tea!" The girl finally directed her attention towards me. She had brown hair that looked almost normal, not quite fitting in with the ridiculousness of the others. "Are you going to Domino High, too?" She questioned with enthusiasm.

"I think so. That's where my brother goes, and I'd like to have at least one friend while I'm there." I answered with a smile.

"That's great! We do, too! Now you'll have even more friends!" She replied, a little too thrilled with this conversation. And did she just justify that sharing ten seconds of dialogue constituted people as friends? Well, if it means less people will pick on me, I'm game!

Tea moved off to the side to let someone else through, and her eyes followed the most incredible hair of all: the king of the crazy hair people.

"Nice to meet you, Sara. I'm Yami." The crazy hair king stated, looking directly into my eyes. The way he commanded the attention of Tea and now myself was so powerful that it was almost frightening. As we shook hands I noticed how similar he looked to one of the other boys. Maybe they're brothers? They have almost the exact same, out-of-this-world hair. But he's so little, what's he doing with a bunch of older kids? Wait, am I still holding his hand?

I looked down to see that I was indeed still holding Yami's hand, so I tried to discreetly brush it off and pretend like nothing had happened. It wasn't my fault, their hair is just so weird! How do they get it to do that?

"Hi, Sara! I'm Yugi! It's really nice to meet you!" The little boy with the same insane hair beyond belief greeted, shaking my hand. Finally, someone who's shorter than me besides Mokuba! I couldn't help but smile, he was so adorable! As he let go of my hand I tried to think of the names of those I had just met, but I was already starting to forget. The blonde's Joey, the ladies' man started with a D, the girl was named after a beverage...

"Hey, Sara, I'm Tristan, nice to meet you." A guy with hair resembling a rhino's horn introduced, clasping my hand tightly. What great people these all are, regardless of how much time they spend doing their hair in the morning.

"And I'm Bakura, it's lovely to meet you, Sara." A boy with shaggy, white hair spoke: in a British accent! Man that's cool! His voice, besides being laced with British awesomeness, had some kind of warm gentleness to it. With that kind-hearted nature and that hair he could effectively pass for a woman, if he ever needed to. Not that he would, I'm not implying anything sketchy, it's just a nice skill to have...

I smiled widely, trying to look like I was actually paying attention. "It's very nice meeting-"

"Heeeey, is Kaiba your brother?" Joey interrupted.

"No, I'm just Mokuba's sister." I quipped.

"Oh, okay." Joey looked down to the ground. Everyone immediately started to laugh at him, and I got the feeling that this happens a lot. Already forgetting half of their names, I decided I should make my leave as quickly as possible so I can write down what little I still remember. I mean, really, I just met seven people, and for the record my brain is still somewhere off in jet-lagged la-la land.

"Well, I'll see you guys later, nice meeting you all!" I waved, still laughing as I started walking towards Seto and Mokuba. The crazy hair group uttered a chorus of "See ya"s and "Bye"s. I sighed with content, smiling to myself. It's good to be back. But man, if I'm going to hang out with those people, I'm going to have to style my hair differently. It's not nearly abnormal enough to be a part of their gang!


	2. Home, Sweet Home!

Hello all, hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter as much as I did writing it. Thanks to Sentariana for reviewing! I'm still getting the hang of this, and I really appreciate the support. I apologize for the wait, I had no idea this past month would be so busy! I guess I should have expected it, what with wrapping up my super-senior year and all, but all the same having absolutely no free time is a bother. Graduation's just around the corner, and although I'm really sad that I have to leave (I go to a wicked awesome school), it'll be nice not having to deal with the stress of teaching a class, senior leaps, research papers, portfolio reviews, etc. etc. But enough of me babbling, I'm sure a time will come in the near future when I'll gush about the school that has become my home. -Mismatch

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, a mansion, and/or a moving clothes rack.

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><p>I feel proud when I'm presented with the opportunity to do things for myself and prove that women can be strong. So naturally I declined when the chauffeur offered to handle my bags for me. Plus it just felt weird to have this stranger do manual labor for me. I never thought we'd have a chauffeur...or a limo...or anything that you couldn't buy unless you owned a multi-million dollar corporation (which my brothers conveniently forgot to clue me in on until we got outside and arrived at some rich person's limo, only for it to be <em>our<em> rich person's limo.)

"We're filthy rich?" I exclaimed, climbing into the limousine. I thought I was going to go my whole life without ever entering one of these things. They're rather roomy...

"Oh, did we forget to tell you? We own the company now." Seto replied, nonchalantly stepping inside and setting up his laptop as if he'd done this millions of times, which is probably proportional to how much money he has.

"Wait till you see the house!" Mokuba chimed in. Oh God, I hope it's nothing flashy...

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><p>Flashy does not even begin to describe it.<p>

I had a bad feeling people would judge me for having this kind of a house when there are over-flowing homeless shelters out there...but at the same time, it was kind of kick-ass to be living in a house with one of those really long staircases that you could slide down, no matter how superficial it was.

Every wall, every window pane, every speck of the building was completely and utterly immaculate. Not a trace of dust, not one object out of place, the whole environment was very...sterile. I made a mental note to forgo this nonsense by trashing my room the moment I found it.

"Whoa...do we provide maps to the visitors? 'Cause I'm sure as hell getting lost." I joked, looking to the left to see my brothers walking down a corridor. I was lagging behind, absorbing as much as I could of my new surroundings.

"We don't really have guests that often." Mokuba informed, a slight sadness in his confession.

"Why not? Don't you invite friends over? I mean, with a house like this you could throw some serious parties!" I grinned. Seto didn't look amused. "Or business conferences, whichever you prefer."

"Like anybody outside the family is allowed in the Kaiba Mansion." Seto grumbled.

"...That's what it's called? _The Kaiba Mansion?_ I guess it is a little big to be calling it home, sweet home." I reckoned.

"But now this is _your_ home, sweet home, Sara!" Mokuba reminded, grinning up at me. I guess if you push metaphysics aside and can consider a building a home, then yes, this is where I'll reside in, but I don't think something the size of a school could ever be my home. Unless we all, as beings, get lost in our homes? Sorry, didn't mean to get all philosophical there...

"How about we drop your bags off in your room and take a tour around our house?" Mokuba suggested, grabbing one of my suitcases by the handle.

"Sounds good to me! Lead the way, Mokuba!" I smiled, holding the other bag.

And he did lead the way. To the _elevators_.

"You've got to be kidding me...I thought this was a house, not a mall." I stated.

"Well, I thought it'd be easier than taking your bags all the way up the stairs." Mokuba reasoned. He does have a point, but that still doesn't change the fact that there are _elevators_ in our _house_. One thing's for sure; a lot has changed since we were all in the orphanage.

After zooming up to the second floor in the not-so-homey elevator, Mokuba directed us down a couple hallways and pointed to a white, rather plain looking door.

"That's Seto's room. Mine's the grey one right there. And that one's yours!" He motioned towards an equally plain, white door. I'll have to remember to rock that out later. I walked towards the door, suitcase in tow, and gripped the handle. Even the doorknob reeked of money, not to mention the actual _room_.

A queen-sized, plum colored bed was off to one side of the room, encased in a dark wooden frame. The floor was obscured by a soft-looking, forest green carpet, inviting me to sink my feet in. A giant mirror encompassed an entire wall, while another wall was decorated with fancy French windows adorned by large curtains. The door-sized windows seemed to lead out onto a balcony, probably with a view of the front yard...or maybe the backyard. Or possibly a side yard? I couldn't be sure, I'm no Lewis and Clark after all. I've never had a good sense of direction, to put it lightly. In fact, the amount of time it takes for me to become lost is humorously minimal, almost to the point of being slightly dangerous. There's a chance I could get lost just in this room, nonetheless the ginormous house.

Being surrounded by such exorbitant furniture had me feeling uncomfortable. The armoire, the vanity, even the desk made me feel inferior, like I didn't deserve such expensive living quarters. I dropped my bags and jumped onto the bed, stretching my limbs as far as they would go. I couldn't even reach _close_ to the edge. What am I going to do with a bed this big? If I ever befriend the crazy hair people, we better have epic pillow fights.

Which reminds me, why were they even at the airport anyway? One doesn't usually just waltz into an airport for no reason...Seto seemed agitated with that whole crew. I wonder why, they seemed like such great people...or at least some of them did.

"One of the maids helped us decorate; Seto and I aren't all that good at interior design..." Mokuba explained, bringing my thoughts back to the situation at hand.

"Not to mention that you guys are probably out of touch with your inner woman since I've been gone." I joked, sitting up on the bed. I looked around and noticed two doors that I hadn't seen earlier. One opened up to a large bathroom, complete with bath and shower, and the other opened up to...

"A walk-in closet? Holy snot, I thought they only had those in movies!" I exclaimed in a very lady-like fashion, just like the lady I am...hahaha, what a joke!

"What, is there a restriction against entering American closets?" Mokuba laughed.

"Nah, it's just that Ray didn't have a whole lot of money, so I lived in a room that was about half the size of this closet." I shrugged.

"Oh man, so this must be a total culture shock to you then, huh?" Mokuba frowned.

"Yeah, kinda, but Ray was really sweet and did his best anyway. I mean it's not like we couldn't afford to live, we just didn't get a whole bunch of luxuries or anything, like this totally awesome clothes rack!" I was immediately amused by a little button that, when pressed, automatically moved the line of clothes hangers around the room. This must be one of the epitomes of laziness: having the opportunity to stand in a closet while your clothes move for you, so you don't have to bother simply turning your head to look at all the choices.

"Ray? Is that who you stayed with?" Mokuba questioned, once again returning me to the present. I really have to garner some focus here, I must still be a little loopy from the plane ride.

"Yep, just him and I, plus Nigel, our Husky. Who _always_ managed to be under your feet when you're trying to walk, especially at the worst possible times, like when you're holding something breakable or walking down the stairs...man, this thing is so cool!" I was indeed still transfixed on the sweet clothes rack.

"Hey, Sara? Are you done gawking at the closet? Because we still have the whole rest of the house to check out." Mokuba reminded. I suddenly had an urge to tickle the little brother I hadn't seen in years, so I sprang from my position and tackled him. My fingers danced behind his ears, where all three of us Kaiba's are ticklish. He giggled, attempting to pry my hands off of him. Then an idea hit me. (Not literally, don't worry.)

"Hey! Let's go torture -I mean tickle ambush- Seto!" I suggested, getting off the floor and helping Mokuba up. He smiled widely.

"Yeah, he deserves that for ditching us _right_ after we got home."

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><p>After looking around the house for twenty minutes or so, with some brief explanations from Mokuba about the library, the courtyard, and some other random rooms that made me feel like we were playing a game of Clue, we finally heard Seto's voice coming from what Mokuba called the studio. The door was open a crack, making it possible to make out what he was saying. I put a finger to my lips, signaling to be quiet. Mokuba nodded and we crouched down, hoping not to be detected.<p>

"No, I can't! It's my sister's first day here, I haven't seen her in years! If I leave for the office now she'll think I do that every night!...well just because I do doesn't mean I want her to think that, idiot. Can't you just handle it yourself?" Seto barked, sounding very irritated. He must be on the phone, or talking into one of those little gadgets people wear in their ears that make it look like they're Important.

"Maybe now's a bad time." I whispered to Mokuba.

"Argh, fine, I'll be there, you incompetent fool." Seto spat, and as soon as he ceased speaking a _click_ was heard and the sound of his footsteps grew louder and louder until he opened the door and stepped out, at which point both Mokuba and I brought him to the ground in an awesome hug-attack combo: Kaiba-sibling-style. We immediately tickled him behind his ears, much to his dismay, and he started laughing. He began kicking his legs, swinging his arms, anything to get us to stop. After what Mokuba thought was a decent punishment, he halted the attack on the enemy and got up off the floor. When not pinned to the ground, his height makes him a formidable opponent. I don't know how the genetics screwed up, or what's wrong with me, or why the universe decided that only Seto is blessed with a tall frame even though we're freaking _twins, _but it'd be nice to not be so...vertically challenged.

"What was that for?" Seto pouted, dusting himself off and then crossing his arms across his chest.

"Hmm, maybe it's because you totally bailed on us!" Mokuba stated as if it was completely obvious.

"Too cool to hang with your little sis, Seto?" I joked. He didn't find it funny.

"No, turns out I'm not cool _enough_. I need to go to the office, those bastards can't get anything done without me." Seto growled in aggravation.

"Yeah, we know." Mokuba commented. Seto furrowed his eyebrows.

"How long have you been standing out here like creeps?" He questioned.

"Long enough to decide that tomorrow you should take the day off so we can have a Kaiba-family bonding day!" I replied. He blinked.

"The whole day?" He asked incredulously. I nodded. He seemed unable to comprehend this, merely staring at me, his mouth agape in shock. After a few moments he regained awareness, shaking his head and bringing his attention back from wherever he was. I saw the ghost of a smile grace his lips.

"We'll see, no guarantees though on such short notice. But I have to go now, I'll see you guys later." Seto began walking away, his long legs providing him with equally long strides. Man, if I wanted to walk that fast I'd have to jog...

"See ya, bro!" Mokuba and I said simultaneously, and as we glanced at each other, the word "Jinx" on the tip of our tongues, I felt like I wanted to cry from joy. We haven't had a moment like that in years. But I'm back now, and we have lots of time to make up for the years we were apart.


	3. The Kaiba Family Bonding Day: Part 1

Hello all! It's currently down pouring here, but it isn't in Domino, and I hope wherever you are the weather fits your fancy, whether you prefer getting cozy inside during thunder storms, or splashing through mud puddles, or laying outside in the sun with a good book. I just got back from my wicked sweet graduation, and of course I have such amazing after-graduation plans that consist of me immediately publishing on here. (haha) The ceremony was absolutely beautiful, and very weird and wonderful, and all the kinds words were like music to the ears. There's less than thirty of us at the school, and only five of us were seniors, so it was very personal and creative and exciting. :)

I hope you all enjoy this next installment, I can't wait for all this preliminary stuff to be done, I want to get to the interesting parts! -Mismatch

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, a sports car, or a wicked witch of the west.

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><p>My stomach growled loudly as I struggled to gain my bearings in the enormous building. I had walked down every hall, through every corridor, poked my head into every open doorway, but nothing could help me now.<p>

The chirping of the birds outside had gently coaxed me from my slumber that morning in the still unfamiliar, yet very comfortable, bed. The sunshine streaming through the window illuminated the room naturally. I jumped out from under the sheets, did some morning stretches, and threw some clothes on. A few minutes later I felt my stomach grumble, so I decided to trek to the kitchen. I very confidently skipped out of the room and started day-dreaming about what yummy food to eat. There was just one problem.

I got lost.

"Holy crap this place is huge, I don't even know what floor I'm on now." I scratched my head in confusion, as if that movement might stimulate some brain activity. "I wonder if there's an underground basement where we keep prisoners?" I blinked, then sighed. "I hope not, just more area for me to get lost in." I slumped over and began dragging my feet down the hall. This was just so hopeless.

"Maybe it'd be easier if every stinking wall wasn't exactly the same, or if there were arrows pointing to the exit, or a sign saying _You are here!,_ because then I would reply with _Thank you, friendly Sign, for telling me. I shall now use my incredible map reading skills to find the way out!_ Haha yeah right, I can't read maps for crap, but anything would be better than this."

"Who are you talking to?"

I looked up from the hardwood floor to see Mokuba staring at me.

"Oh, was that all out loud? Huh, I could've sworn I was thinking it...What are you doing in this neck of the woods, my fine younger brother?" I asked cheerily, wondering why he would be way out here, wherever the hell we were.

"What do you mean? We're right next to our bedrooms." Mokuba jabbed a thumb behind him. I rounded the corner to gaze upon the exact destination I had started at over an hour ago.

"Damn it...well, uhh, I was just taking a morning stroll. You know, getting a feel for the place. Soon I'll know this layout like the back of my hand! But really, I know like every freckle on my hand, do you?"

"I don't have any freckles." Mokuba retorted.

"Oh yeah...well I'm hungry, let's go eat. Lead the way, Mokuba!" I motioned theatrically down the hall, starting to dance and leap my way to the kitchen.

"Sure thing, but you're already going the wrong way." Mokuba informed.

"Seriously? Double damn! This place is so freaking huge! It's like a castle, the only thing that's missing is that dungeon."

"What about our dungeon?" Mokuba inquired, with a serious tone to match his face. I blinked.

"Wait, we actually have a dungeon?"

"Just kidding!" He giggled for a moment, then turned stoic. "Not really, though." He swiveled around and began walking down the hall, leaving me in the dust. Better catch up to him if I don't want to get lost, I'll probably have to follow him for a long time before we finally get to the kitchen...

Mokuba walked for about five seconds before descending down a tiny spiral staircase. I followed suit. At the bottom there was a coffee-drinking Seto, reading the newspaper at a medium sized dining table. Through a doorway I could see the sheen of a just-cleaned refrigerator.

"It's _right _here? Are you serious?" My mouth hung agape from how incredulous this felt, but I quickly regained my composure. Gotta keep my cool, you know, just pretend like I knew it all along.

"I think we need to get a beeper for her, Seto, she just spent her whole morning roaming around the house looking for the kitchen." Mokuba informed.

"But it's only a minute away...?" Seto spoke as he looked up from his newspaper.

"Yeah, I know." Mokuba agreed as he sat down at the table and began reading the cartoons that had been conveniently left on the table. Maybe this was some kind of morning ritual; Seto reads the Important Things and leaves the Not-So-Important Things on the table for Mokuba.

"Did you make it underground? What did you think of the dungeon?" Seto asked nonchalantly, looking me square in the eye as he sipped his coffee.

"So there _is_ a dungeon?" I asked.

"Hah, you're so funny, Sara." Seto returned his attention to the newspaper.

"Okay, just to clarify, we do _not_ have a dungeon, right?" I asked the pair just to be sure. Both of my brothers acted as if the newspaper was more important than their own sister's sanity. God triple damn.

"Seto, why aren't you wearing one of your fancy suits?" Mokuba questioned as he completely ignored me. Seto looked up from his newspaper. The table obscured my view, so I side-stepped to notice he wore a nice pair of black jeans and a dark grey dress shirt. The first button was open and the sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows. I guess rich people can afford to look classy and casual at the same time.

"What, forgot about our bonding day already?" Seto grinned. I looked up hopefully.

"You got the day off?" Mokuba smiled enthusiastically.

"Of course I did. It's my company anyway, I do as I damn well please." Seto replied, setting the newspaper down on the table and taking another swig of his coffee.

"AHH let's go let's go let's go let's go RIGHT NOW." I squealed, grabbing both their hands and dragging them towards the exit, except that I then realized that I didn't know the way out.

"Uhh, how do we get out of here?" I asked. Seto chuckled.

"Not this way."

* * *

><p>I had rushed out of the house so fast that we didn't have the chance to eat breakfast, so the three of us decided to go scout out a place downtown to fill our bellies. Seto seemed vehemently opposed to any place that Mokuba or I suggested, but eventually he'd have to give in. None of his fancy restaurants are open this early in the day, anyway.<p>

The hem of my white sundress drifted around my knees in the wind as we trudged on, my black high-top converse loyally bearing all the weight for me. The August sun felt so nice on my skin, still pale and freckled regardless of how many hours I had spent outside. My eyes kept darting from this side of the street to that, from this passerby to that fire hydrant, from this flag pole to that plant. I tried to take it all in but there was just so much!

A part of me could distinctly remember Domino from when I was a kid, but most of my memories were cloudy. Once we were orphaned we weren't allowed out of that prison anyway. But I refused to get lost, so now is as good a time as any to learn the lay of the land.

Seto had driven us here in one of his crazy sports cars: fast, sleek, and probably worth more than I was. It was very clean, unlike anything I owned. Apparently they don't use them too much, since they usually get driven in a limo and Mokuba isn't old enough to drive anyway. Yesterday I had thought that they were going over the top, but it seems this is much more routine than I'd hoped. Silly me, thinking limousines aren't the norm!

"What about that one, Seto?" Mokuba pointed to another sandwich shop, his massive hair bouncing with each skip in his step. Our brother merely shrugged.

"Whatever." He replied simply.

"Sounds like a great idea!" I agreed, seizing the opportunity. Mokuba and I sped up, unofficially calling a race. In the end he beat me, but only because I had to stop for an elderly woman using her cane for support. I couldn't just knock her over, although that would have surely claimed my victory...

Seto, too cool for races, lagged behind as Mokuba and I entered the little cafe. Half the tables were full of laughing, smiling, and chewing customers, but one group of merry people caught my attention, mainly because of their hair. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was eyeliner guy and rhino horn from yesterday's encounter, sitting around a tiny table with an unfamiliar girl.

Rhino Horn's face brightened as he looked up from his breakfast.

"Hey guys!" He greeted with a wave. Eyeliner shifted his gaze from his hand to us, his cup still resting on his lips. The girl swiveled in her chair to look behind her, her long auburn hair whipping around and almost slapping Eyeliner's face in the process. To my dismay I couldn't recall their names. If only there weren't so many options for who's who! Luckily Mokuba saved the day.

"Hey, Tristan! How's it going?" Mokuba greeted cheerily. I made a mental note about Rhino Horn/Tristan. Now who's the other one...

"I'm doing great! Duke and I are welcoming Serenity home, since she just got back from that seminar." Tristan answered. Duke! It was on the tip of my tongue...

"Oh, is that why you guys were at the airport yesterday?" Mokuba asked. Tristan nodded. "That's cool, what was the seminar like, Serenity?"

"It was awesome! I had so much fun and I learned a lot, too. I missed everyone here though, especially Joey, so I'm not too sad that it's over. Luckily I got that sponsorship, otherwise I never would have been able to afford it." The girl, who I assumed to be Serenity, answered. Tristan looked from Serenity to me, then from me to Serenity, before a light bulb went off under his rhino horn.

"Hey! You guys don't know each other yet! Serenity, this is Sara, Kaiba's sister. We just met her yesterday." Tristan explained.

"Your brother made an ass out of himself." Duke mentioned, speaking for the first time before taking a sip of his water.

"Oh, so you met Joey! I hope he wasn't mean to you. He's a really great guy, he's just not that fond of your brother." Serenity frowned, genuine concern shining in her hazel eyes.

"Oh no, quite the opposite actually..." I replied with a smile. After a moment she caught my drift and let out a laugh.

"Boys." She shook her head in mock disapproval.

"Seriously." I grinned. I really liked Serenity, she deserved the honor of me actually remembering her name. At that moment a bell _tinged_, signaling the door opening as Seto finally arrived.

"Wow, Seto, took long enough? You sure you aren't part turtle?" I joked.

"...Sara, that would mean we're part turtle, too." Mokuba reasoned. Oh yeah...damn.

"Hey, Serenity." Seto greeted offhandedly.

"Hi, Seto." She replied, a small smile on her face. Tristan and Duke glanced at each other worriedly for a split second before standing up.

"Well, we were just leaving." Tristan stated. Duke tried to hide his half-eaten sandwich.

"We were?" Serenity questioned.

"Yup, isn't that right, Duke?" Tristan prompted, helping Serenity out of her chair.

"Right! We have lots of places to be today. Things to see, people to do-I mean things to do, people to see. Right, Tristan?" Duke chuckled nervously.

"Right, Duke!" Tristan was gently maneuvering a confused Serenity from the table. Serenity blinked and shook her head as if her mind suddenly had a semi-important thought (like a thought more important than deciding what's for lunch, but less so than solving world hunger).

"Hey! Are you guys going on the camping trip?" She asked Seto and I.

"You have me down to a tee, Serenity. Only you would know that I love nothing more than sleeping on the ground and not showering for days on end." He spoke facetiously. She giggled. She's soooo cute! I just want to kiss her. She's like a little puppy that you want to hold forever. Duke and Tristan, noticing how irresistibly adorable she was, started to panic.

"Well, we better get going. We're late for...our meeting with Duke's grandmother. She needs help with her cats, Twinkles and...Bob." Tristan fibbed.

"You mean _your_ grandmother's cats." Duke corrected, refusing to lose any dignity form this charade.

"Are you going on the camping trip, Sara?" Serenity asked in good spirits, completely ignoring the fighting duo behind her that were pining for her attention.

"Uhh, I actually don't even know what we're talking about." I confessed.

"Oh, that's right, you wouldn't know yet! Well every year Domino High goes on a retreat, kind of like a bonding trip of sorts. Right before school starts all the kids go camping, plus only the awesome teachers chaperone. The dumb ones stay home because they're too lame to sleep on the ground and not shower for days on end." She teased Seto. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he ruffled her hair. Tristan and Duke visibly jumped.

"When you have a company to run, let me know how you manage to take three days in a row off." Seto chuckled.

"Okay, we _really _got to go. Duke's grandmother hates tardiness, and when people are late she's like the wicked witch of the west." Tristan started pulling Serenity towards the door.

"You mean _your_ wicked witch of the west." Duke corrected again.

"But I thought we were meeting the rest of the gang at the mall?" Serenity asked, not putting up too much of a fight as the two led her out of the shop.

"Nope, change of plans, see ya guys!" Tristan closed the door to the cafe behind them. Through the window Serenity waved goodbye before being pushed out of sight.

"Maybe it wasn't such a bad decision to come here after all." Seto smirked.

"Oh, so you were making them feel uncomfortable on purpose?" I asked to clarify.

"Those guys have been after her for years, Seto loves messing with their heads." Mokuba grinned. "Too bad Joey wasn't here, right, Seto?"

Seto stayed silent, pretending as if the menu that hung over our heads was of the utmost importance, but he didn't need to say anything. The smile that had plastered itself onto his face said all.

"So, where should we go after we're done eating?" Mokuba asked. Seto smirked.

"Let's go to the mall."


	4. The Kaiba Family Bonding Day: Part 2

Hello again all you lovely Earth beings! Hopefully you're having a fantastic summer! I've been spending my time babysitting my little nieces while my half-sister's up visiting mama and I, and subsequently I've heard the words "Barbie", "Fairy", "Doll" etc. a thousand times more than the healthy level. It is loud. It is crazy. It is a typical house full of women.

I've also had the joy of dealing with swarms of tourists invading the thrift store I work at. It's wonderful, especially because so many of them think that the price tag's just a suggestion, and that we're actually some kind of bazaar that barters. As an added bonus, most of them only speak French. I do not know French, except for the extremely appropriate "le grrrrr". I can also say cheese, but that's not as appropriate.

Hope you have fun reading the next chapter of _Kiss Me, Make Me Better_! -Mismatch

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, Dr. Dre, or the Mystery Machine. Although that would be flipping sweet if I did, and I would all let you ride in it. Don't worry, I'm not sketchy, eating the laced Scooby Snacks would be optional.

* * *

><p>I swiveled the cold knobs of the faucet as I finished washing my hands, flicking little droplets of water into the sink and drying them carelessly on my sundress. My choice of clothing was now beginning to look out-of-place. The last time I glanced outside it was beginning to cloud over: not optimal weather for such attire, but that really doesn't matter anyway when you're in a mall bathroom. What does matter, however, is getting away from the omnipresent stench as quickly as possible, especially when there's a little toddler stumbling around who looks ready to puke on the next thing she sees.<p>

Avoiding the puking toddler, I walked out of the community germ house and looked around. To my surprise my brothers had left.

When we had first arrived at the mall I had joked that this place was almost as big as our house, but in fact this was much worse. It was _huge, _and I didn't have a clue where anything was. Fortunately there were maps scattered intermittently throughout the building, so if the apocalypse came in the next five minutes I could_ probably_ find my way out. The bad news, however, was that I had no idea where my brothers were, and unless a sign magically became the Marauder's Map, I was shit out of luck.

I vaguely remembered a voice in a wilderness survival class instructing "stay put if you're lost so that people can find you", buuuut that sounded really boring, so I didn't.

"Hey, Sara!"

I looked over my shoulder to see a smiling someone waving at me. It was another one of the strange hair people! Man, they must be on a mission or something, they're all over the place! He was dressed in jeans and T-shirt, partially obscured by a hoodie, with his white hair flowing over his shoulders. He looked relatively normal alongside the King of the crazy hair people, who was decked out in lots of black collars, some tight capris, and a dark shirt, accentuating the crazy mess of highlighted hair that stood on his head as if it had been struck by lightning.

Gandalf the White got up off his stool and started walking in my direction, the King in tow. Something that piqued my interest was their strangely similar necklaces. I hadn't noticed them yesterday, but as they came closer I had a better look. They both seemed to be made of solid gold, and each had an eerie-looking eye plastered on the side. You don't see something like that everyday. Men and their bling...

The pair stopped when they were right in front of me.

"Mokuba's off with the others looking for Kaiba. We promised him we'd take care of you until they got back." Gandalf the White explained.

"Oh, well thank you. So, uhh...what do we do now?" I thought out-loud, very awkwardly I might add. It's not that I didn't want to spend time with these probably very lovely people, it's just that this 'Kaiba family bonding day' was going to shit.

"We can walk around until someone calls us." The King suggested, but it sounded more like a command, so we did just that.

Our trio strayed away from the food court, traversing along the long channels of the mall filled with kiosks, carts, and the occasional merry-go-round, each attended by a desperate shop-keeper searching for business. One was particularly hell-bent on selling me a black pony-tail extension, refusing to notice the obvious fact that _I'm a ginger._

"So how are you liking Japan?" Gandalf tried to break the ice. I smiled.

"It's great, I really missed being at home with my brothers. I'm not a big fan of our house, though, if you can really call it a_ house_..."

"Why? Doesn't suit your fancy?" He frowned, his sweet chocolate eyes glittering with concern.

"I keep getting lost in it...and we may or may not have a dungeon."

"A dungeon? Wow, didn't know that one. I've heard you guys have a state-of-the-art dueling ring, but then again lots of rumors get spread about rich people..." Gandalf scratched the back of his head nervously, the white ruffles of hair engulfing his hand.

"A what?"

"Duel monsters, there's no way you haven't heard about it." The stoic King finally entered the conversation.

"I've kind of been living under a rock ever since I was shipped out of the country."

"It's this incredible card game. Kaiba's one of the world champs, but I'm better than him." He bragged. I stopped walking as we happened to arrive at what seemed to be a card shop. Large posters of creatures and machines adorned the entrance.

"Is this Duel Monsters?" I stared like an idiot at the enormous pictures.

"Yeah, let's check it out!" Both the King and Gandalf stepped inside eagerly. Me...not so much.

Rows upon rows of wooden stands were set up throughout the store, each holding a vast number of cards in labeled columns. I didn't know what any of it meant, but obviously my temporary escorts did. Gandalf wandered off to an isolated corner of the shop that wasn't well kept, while the King remained at my side. His nimble fingers flipped through the cards like it was his job. A group of kids some yards away huddled together as one of them pointed towards us. Maybe this guy did have some skills.

"I love games, especially Duel Monsters. It reminds me of Yugi. Hey, Swords of Revealing Light, he loves this card!" With vigorous enthusiasm he pulled one out of the little box. To my vast knowledge, I deduced that it was green, and that was about it.

"Are you and Yugi close?" I asked, running my hand down the stacks absentmindedly. He nodded.

"Yeah, or at least we used to be. Now he likes Tea more, though." He answered vaguely.

"What, do you have a crush on him?"

"No no no, nothing like that, just..." He pursed his lips, as if trying to think of the right word. "We used to have a really special connection, rather one-of-a-kind, but he gave it up so that he could make room in his life for a girlfriend."

"Aw man, I'm sorry. It sucks to lose a best friend." I smiled sympathetically at him.

"It's worse than losing a best friend, it's like losing a part of who you are!" His nostrils flared as he glared at me. A moment later he let out a sigh, regained his composure and refocused his attention to the stiff, colored chunks of paper on display.

"Wow, you guys had a bond like that? That's deep. What did he do? Just start ignoring you or something?"

"Well, if you're gonna be hanging around us you'll probably find out soon enough anyway, we're a pretty weird bunch...You see this?" He held up his geometric jewelry. "This used to belong to Yugi. And because of that, we used to share the same body."

There was a pause.

"...Are you making fun of me?"

"Never mind, I knew you wouldn't take me seriously, no one ever does." He turned to leave but I grabbed his rolled-up shirt sleeve. He looked over his shoulder at my hand.

"No wait, I want to know, I just thought you were messing with me. I apologize. Okay, so you and Yugi used to live together-"

"We had two minds, two souls, in one body, thanks to this. We were always together, partners through everything, but then he started crushing on Tea. She was always rather oblivious, though, since she was much more attracted to me."

A part of me was surprised by his openness, that he would talk so freely to an almost-stranger, but I guess that's what happens when you care about something, including a _someone._ You just can't help it.

"Maybe she likes your modesty." I joked.

"Well, it's not my fault I'm the sexiest thing since Jesus Christ himself." He spoke seriously, making a grand, sweeping gesture over himself, conveniently flexing his arm muscles as if it was just by chance.

"Frankly, I think that cardboard cutout is hotter." I laughed, pointing to a scantily-clad, life-size girl on the far wall.

"Oh, come on, everyone thinks the Dark Magician Girl's a babe...wait, are you into chicks?" He finally bothered to direct his attention towards me as he scrutinized my face.

"I'm pansexual." I answered.

"Oh, of course you are, I'm spatula-sexual myself. What the hell does _that_ mean?"

"It means I love everybody. I care more about what's up here, not down there." I motioned to my head. His expression softened for a second, and I saw something in his eyes change, almost like he was...smiling. For the first time since meeting him I didn't feel threatened by his presence.

"Yugi used to say something like that..."

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing!" He waved the air carelessly, grinning. "Well that's very noble of you. I'm basically the same way...except that I don't date anybody who has a penis." He attempted to joke. I was finally starting to feel comfortable around him.

"Straight as a pin, huh?"

"Yup, give me a vagina and I'm happy. That didn't come out right..." He averted his gaze out of embarrassment.

"Man, I could have _sworn_ you liked guys! Not that that's a bad thing, of course."

"Why?" His gaze flicked up from the cards in his hand to my face.

"...Have you seen your hair?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It's like a pseudo-rainbow pot leaf. Not many straight guys dye their hair, unfortunately..." I frowned.

"I _like_ my pseudo-rainbow pot leaf. And besides, it's natural anyway." He spoke nonchalantly.

"WHAT? How?"

"I'm magical." He smirked, motioning an imaginary hair flip.

"Wait seriously? Because of your special bling-bling?" My mouth hung agape.

"Oh yeah, I'm the god of being really, really ridiculously good-looking."

"...this time I **know **you're screwing with me." I grinned.

"Yeah that was a complete lie, my bed-head's just fucking fantastic."

* * *

><p>Gandalf, the King, and I were really hitting it off since bonding at the card shop. I still didn't know their names, but after spending an exorbitant amount of time talking about Duel Monsters, and pretending we were half our age in a candy shop, and taking morphed pictures of ourselves in a photo-booth, and eagerly barging into a store with a 'Grand Opening' banner outside where you could sample all the different types of exquisite mattresses, I felt like I could truly call them my friends. It was upon one of these beds that the King and I currently occupied.<p>

"How about you watch me play sometime? I kick ass and take names on a regular basis."

"Uhh, okay, I guess. Is it that big of a deal?" I wondered.

"Oh yeah, it's huge, Kaiba's making a whole fucking amusement park based around it. I'm surprised he hasn't bitched to you about me yet, I beat his ass like it's my job."

Just as I was about to defend my brother, a cell phone rang to the tune of Still D.R.E. I couldn't help but try to hide my giggle at his song choice. We finally got the call informing us that the mission was complete. It seems that the gang had found Seto along with Serenity, who no one bothered to mention to me was missing until just now. No wonder it took everyone and their extended family to form a search party...not.

"Alright, we'll be there soon, man." The King shut his phone and lifted his hips from the bed in order to shove the device into his back pocket.

"I haven't heard that song in years." I chuckled.

"Yeah, I have to pay my homage to Joey. He was my first weed dealer." He grinned. Not knowing how to reply I stayed silent, and after lying still for a few moments he began to laugh. "Speaking of which, I can't believe I'm still so fucked up."

My attention snapped to him in a millisecond. "What? Right now? In the middle of the day?"

"Yeah, I didn't think it'd last this long, but I had nothing to do this morning except the pills next to my bed...and the joint on the other side...and the six pack underneath it..."

"Holy shit, are you alright? You sure you should be out in public?"

"Pfft, please, when am I _not _high in public? Relax, I do this all the time. People like me more when I'm not myself."

The silence that ensued was heartbreaking. After hearing him open up so much today, I only assumed it was because we were becoming friends. I guess I was just fooling myself.

On one hand, I really enjoyed being around him. Even if he was out of his mind, I couldn't just ignore all the fun we had with his crazy antics. On the other hand it pained me to think of his reasoning.

'_People like me more when I'm not myself.'_

I slipped my hand into his for comfort. He appeared mildly surprised as he glanced at where our fingers touched.

"Please don't ever get so down on yourself. You're a great person, why would you think of doing this?"

"After Yugi left, things were hard...the drugs helped." He answered briefly.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation...from the other side of the store." Gandalf appeared suddenly. It was true, he had just left a particularly decadent bed several yards away, since the three of us all couldn't pretend to be looking for one mattress together. We probably would have garnered some very strange expressions if we had feigned such polygamy. "Should we go meet up with the others?"

"Yeah, they found Kaiba with Serenity, whatever that means." The King answered as he got up off the bed.

"Why do you guys all call him by our last name? It's really confusing..." I followed suit as we exited the haven of comfort and began our trek to find the others.

"I hear you there! My first name's Ryou, but everyone calls me Bakura."

Bakura! That was it! Or Ryou? One of the two...

"When Ishizu first separated our bodies no one knew what to call me, since I was always just 'the other Yugi', but I like my name now. Yami's definitely more my style."

"Yami, that was it!" After realizing that I had accidentally spoken this revelation out-loud, I immediately clamped my lips shut and hoped no one heard. Unfortunately Lady Luck wasn't on my side today.

"...Did you really not know my name this entire time?" He narrowed his eyes down at me.

"I'm not good with names, and there were a lot to remember from yesterday." Was my lame excuse.

"Oh come on, my brain's having to deal with more illegal chemicals than you can count, but at least I can remember your _name_. Once a Kaiba always a Kaiba, I guess. And to think, I thought you were like Yugi." He appeared rather pissed off as he picked up the pace, stamping towards the group of familiar teenagers standing next to the glass exit doors, leaving me and Bakura in the dust.

"What's up with him?"

"Well, we're a pretty cheery bunch, but your brother doesn't exactly treat us very well. I think Yami had his reservations about you, since you two were related, but I don't know how he could possibly think you're just 'a Kaiba' after all the great times we've had today." Bakura explained as we got closer and closer to the gang. I noticed that only half of its usual members were present.

"Does he really have a big reputation around here?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure lots of people at school are going to try to get on your good side. Some might do just the opposite, though, since your brother's not the nicest guy in the world, but who cares what they think? Their loss to miss out on a friend as great as you."

"Aww, Ryou, thank you! You're the best." I couldn't help but beam at the compliment. His cheeks reddened a little, and he looked pleasantly surprised to hear his name.

"Oh, well thank you, Sara. I don't think I deserve such kind words, but I appreciate it all the same."

"Hey, Ryou?"

"Hmm?"

"Yami told me that because of his necklace he used to share a body with Yugi. Does yours do that too?" I inquired. Any lingering red quickly retreated from his face.

"You don't want to meet him, but if you ever do...I'm sorry."

"What do you-"

"There you are! What took you so long?" Seto crossed his arms over his chest. I looked around to see Tristan, Duke, Joey, and Serenity talking in a huddle, and it pleased me to realize I was getting better at remembering their names. No more Eyeliner and Rhino Horn!

I couldn't exactly tell my brother that we were delayed due to the discussion of Yami's recreational drug use, so I avoided his gaze to think of an answer.

"Well, we were trying out mattresses at that new store that just opened up, and they were just...really comfy."

"You always did get so amused with the most mundane of things, Sara." Seto chuckled. I looked over at Yami to see him even more agitated, refusing to engage in the conversation the others were having. I kept trying to steal a glance at Serenity, who was being reprimanded by Joey, but she never looked back at me. Her gaze seemed to be occupied by someone else.

"Hey, where's Mokuba?" I asked Seto.

"He's with some of the geek squad. Apparently he was worried and tried to find me or something stupid like that." He answered.

"I don't think that's stupid. You kind of just ditched us without telling anybody. I ended up spending our 'Kaiba family bonding day' with Yami and Ryou."

"Yeah, sorry about that, I just wanted to see Serenity. I hadn't really seen her since she got back from that seminar." He answered. I thought about our meeting with her this morning, smiling at the memory of how adorable she was, but then I became puzzled.

"Wait, how'd you know about that? She told us before you got there."

He raised his eyebrow at me. "Of course I know about it, I fucking paid for the thing."

"But she said she got a sponsorship-" I paused. "Oh, I get it now..."

"You don't even know the half of it." He humphed. In the distance I could make out Mokuba's wild hair, bouncing his way along in a rush to greet us. Yugi was with that girl named after a drink, and I peered at Yami to see him visibly cringe before turning away. It broke my heart to watch the anguish glisten in his amethyst eyes. On the bright side, Yugi looked very cheerful and animated talking to whatsername- coffee, soda, something like that.

"Come on, Mokuba, let's go." Seto turned and pushed open the door, and before I had the chance to talk to anyone else (or catch Serenity's attention) I was being ushered to leave. Once Mokuba scurried through the door, babbling something like "Can we play a game when we get home?", I glanced outside at the rain and then down at my sundress.

It was white.

I looked up to say my goodbyes, preparing to run in the rain as fast as I could to Seto's sports car, only to see Bakura holding out his hoodie for me. I blinked.

"Take it."

"Ryou, are you sure?"

"Of course, it gives me an excuse to see you again." He smiled. I gladly obliged.

"Thank you so much, Ryou, you're so sweet. See ya later everybody!" I tried to make a special wave for Serenity, but it probably turned out much worse than I had envisioned. She's just so adorable! You can't help but act like an idiot around her, or at least I can't.

I clutched Bakura's jacket around me and pulled the hood up to shield myself, wishing that girls' jackets were as functional as boys'. The little drops of water that showered down were not unlike those that I had been letting drip into the sink just mere hours before, before I had made two very good friends, angered one, and made the other blush. Before I finally learned the names of Gandalf and the King, and before our 'Kaiba family bonding day' was a complete failure.

"I got to see Yugi flirt shamelessly with Tea. It was almost funny, except for the fact that I was _right there_." Mokuba spoke as we shut the doors to the car. Tea! Man, I'm getting SO good at this name stuff, I knew it was a beverage! I smiled at my inner-triumph.

"You know, this was just like an episode of Scooby-Doo. Freddie would always team up with Daphne, since he always had a mad crush on her, and in this case that's Yugi and Tea. Serenity's admirers were so worried about her that it left them to pull a Velma and solve the mystery. I guess my group was just the comic relief or something..."

"Got any Scooby Snacks?" Mokuba laughed, adding on to my lame comparison. "But seriously, can we actually go do something fun now? I just spent that whole time trying to block out Yugi's awkwardly suggestive comments about Tea."

"Yeah, and I want to hear more about Serenity! Do you happen to know if she likes girls?"

"You wish. She's mine, and not even her idiot of a brother's gonna change that."


End file.
